Resources

Recorded on May 28, 2024, this is a webinar from CLEOConnect, providing community workers with information about the legal framework of rights relating to 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and highlight legal issues affecting queer and trans communities in Ontario. It shares best practices for inclusivity, useful case studies, and resources to guide you to community and legal support.

The Ontario Human Rights Code protects queer and trans communities from discrimination. But our communities continue to experience hate speech, violence, and exclusion, as well as lower levels of income and wellbeing. What can you do to protect the human rights of your 2SLGBTQIA+ clients and provide supportive and inclusive services?

A starting point reading list for queer and trans community members interested in reading about the the intersections of being queer, trans, and Palestinian. 

Titles include:

• This Arab is Queer: An Anthology by LGBTQ+ Arab Writers

• Citation and Censorship: The Politics of Talking About the Sexual Politics of Israel (Jasbir Puar)

• “Even a Freak Like You Would Be Safe in Tel Aviv”: Transgender Subjects, Wounded Attachments, and the Zionist Economy of Gratitude (Saffo Papantonopoulou)

This flyer offers a summary of a joint OCASI PSI and ACAS (Asian Community AIDS Services) event entitled "What's Goin On in Ontario Schools?". This resource addresses concerns within newcomer communities around 2SLGBTQIA+ policies in schools. The speakers from the virtual event (watch the recording here) were Christine Hsu, Narina Nagra, Alice Te, and gitanjali lena.

As a follow up to our webinar "What's Going On in Ontario Schools", hosted in partnership with ACAS, OCASI PSI welcomed three wonderful speakers on March 21 to continue discussing the impact of recent transphobic legislation in several Canadian provinces, and how to support queer/trans people in our communities in the midst of transphobia and homophobia. Allos Abis, Noon Ghunna, and Beverly Bain offer important insights on sociopolitical dynamics between newcomer communities and the far-right effort to garner support for transphobic and homophobic legislation and policies. They also present perspectives that consider the bigger picture of transphobia and homophobia within and surrounding newcomer communities. 

Research shows that 2SLGBTQA+ people experience greater economic inequities than their heterosexual and cisgender (non-trans) peers. Although poverty is widely understood to be a critically important determinant of health, few studies have investigated the relationships between poverty and health in 2SLGBTQA+ populations, or the possible social and structural relationships that sustain these inequities. This research project and the resulting community report & zine explore the factors that act as barriers and facilitators in accessing social assistance for 2SLGBTQA+ community members through an online survey, interviews and focus groups. You can check out the zine that summarizes the findings in a quick and accessible way or read the full report. 

The recording of the Queering GBV Prevention & Response: What Social Service Providers Need to Know panel that took place on June 15th, 2022 is available to listen on YouTube. OCASI-PSI was honored to be one of the participants. We spoke about the particular impact of GBV on LGBQTIA+ refugees, immigrants, and newcomers.